How events unfolded: Chemical leak timeline

Sunday

Jan 13, 2008 at 12:01 AMJan 13, 2008 at 12:04 AM

"You tell the people of Monroe County that they should be very proud of their emergency responders," said Charles Decker, director of environmental health and security at Vertellus Health and Specialty Products, the site of an early-morning chemical spill in the Delaware Water Gap. "I have national responsibility for this company and I can tell you that the people here today are professional to the nth degree."

KIETRYN ZYCHAL

"You tell the people of Monroe County that they should be very proud of their emergency responders," said Charles Decker, director of environmental health and security at Vertellus Health and Specialty Products, the site of an early-morning chemical spill in the Delaware Water Gap. "I have national responsibility for this company and I can tell you that the people here today are professional to the nth degree."

Decker's sentiments were echoed by division president Robert Molino.

"This incident was handled very quickly and efficiently. This is a first class operation," he said. "I can't stress enough how grateful we are that no one was injured. And we apologize to the community for disrupting their Saturday, but there was a lot of flammable material and the fire chief felt they didn't want to risk having anyone here in the event the chemical was ignited."

Scott Turner is president and CEO of HMHTTC Response Inc. of Mount Arlington, N.J., the hazardous materials cleanup company contracted by Vertellus to handle chemical emergencies at its Delaware Water Gap plant. HMHTTC Response cleans chemical spills all over the United States. His business card reads "Masters of Disaster." When asked about the seriousness of this spill, Turner responded, "Initially, it was Level A, requiring the team to wear fully encapsulated suits. Later, it was downgraded to Level B."

When asked how local emergency responders compared to others across the country, he said, "You can't compare response teams in areas as different as Los Angeles, Chicago and the Poconos. But, I can tell you that this team was excellent. They spared no time in getting manpower and vehicles and equipment here. And they joined into a unified command and very wisely decided to let us handle our piece of the response," he said. When asked to clarify what he meant, Turner said, "For instance, in Chicago, they call the shots on everything." Turner said his company handles 3,000 calls a year nationwide from small incidents to heavy industrial spills like the recent oil spill in San Francisco. His clients include the top 100 trucking firms and eight of the top 10 tanker companies as well as railroads.

Timeline of the emergency spill response:

7:50 a.m. Vertellus employees place a 911 call to report a chemical spill and notify their private contractor, HMHTTC. 7:51 a.m. Bruce Henry, deputy director of the Monroe County Office of Emergency Management is listening to the police scanner at home in Tobyhanna when he receives the call from the 911 center. On the way to the Delaware Water Gap, Henry speaks to the Monroe County hazmat team to determine if the county or a private company will handle the chemical spill.

911 Center places a call to Delaware Water Gap Fire Company. DWG requests assistance from Shawnee, Marshall's Creek Fire Company and Stroud Township. Marshall's Creek has a truck with 3,000 feet of five-inch hose, which will be used for pumping water from Cherry Creek at the intersection of Route 611 and Broad Street to the spill site. Stroud Township supplies a command unit — a trailer utilized for meetings to coordinate the response. Suburban Ambulance is called to the scene. Dr. Robert Wallen, on staff at Pocono Medical Center and medical adviser to the Red Cross is called.

8:20 a.m. Henry arrives on scene. First responders of HMHTTC arrive to assess situation. By 9:30 a.m. Two trailers from HMHTTC arrive with equipment. Volunteers and staff are at Red Cross headquarters. Shelters are set up at two schools, Smithfield Elementary and Stroudsburg High School. Residents have been evacuated. Salvation Army canteen sets up in staging area to provide snacks and water for firefighters. 9:30 a.m. Tobyhanna Army Depot's fire company sends a vehicle and an EMT to each emergency shelter. 10 a.m. HMHTTC, wearing Level A protection, assesses leak. It is determined that foam will be needed to suppress vapor from the chemical in the concrete containment pit beneath the tanks. Blue Ridge Fire Chief, Leon Clapper, brings a trailer from the Public Safety Center in Snydersville specifically equipped for Foam suppression. Lackawanna County also sends a foam equippped trailer as a back up. Noon. Executives from Vertellus arrive on scene. 1-2 p.m. After HMHTTC concludes its inspection, foam is sprayed on pit beneath tank by volunteer firefighters wearing full protective gear. 2:30 p.m. Stroudsburg High shelter shuts down. Smithfield remains open. 3 p.m. HMHTTC vacuums liquid out of containment pit into storage tank. 4 p.m. Most of liquid has been removed from containment pit. Solid chemicals are removed after liquid. 5 p.m. Decontamination of firefighters who had contact with the chemical spill. 6 p.m. Residents return to homes. Emergency responders leave scene. HMHTTC employees remain to complete shutdown of site.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.